Why so easily—why would Hayama be willing to reveal the reason for his low mood just like that.
Back then, she had gone and asked three boys who were on good terms with Hayama; they had gone to inquire, but Hayama still gave no answer at all, only stating that nothing was wrong with him.
But this time,
facing Lin Ye, a boy with whom he'd previously had not the slightest interaction, Hayama had agreed and even said he could tell him directly,
and this dealt Miura Yumiko an enormous shock,
to the point that she felt she didn't understand Hayama at all, that she had no real grasp of his situation.
She had spent so much time with Hayama, paid attention to him for so long, yet even she hadn't known that Hayama could be persuaded so easily,
Miura Yumiko felt miserable.
As for Isshiki Iroha and Yui Yuigahama, it went without saying.
They had thought that such direct questioning from Lin Ye would get no answer at all, that it would only meet with a flat refusal—but Hayama agreed, agreed outright, without even a trace of a polite decline.
"So amazing,"
"Senpai really is incredible!"
"I told you Senpai would definitely succeed,"
"Miura-senpai, that's what you get for not believing in Senpai—now go and prepare yourself mentally for the confession!"
Isshiki Iroha couldn't conceal her radiant smile.
This round, Isshiki won completely, a victory that left her thoroughly comfortable and pleased.
A bet with a turnaround like this, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat—now that was satisfying!
The pity was that Senpai hadn't proposed having Miura Yumiko-senpai be his girlfriend; otherwise, that would have counted as fulfilling her promise to Senpai.
Miura Yumiko paid no heed to Isshiki Iroha, instead focusing her attention on her phone, waiting for Hayama's account from the other end of the line.
Unlike the three girls, however, Yukino Yukinoshita had thought of a certain possibility.
Knowing Lin Ye far better than the others, she believed that Lin Ye must have used some marvelous Strange ability to be able to influence Hayama's consciousness.
She actually felt that Lin Ye using this special power on people without their leave was, in fact, just a touch inappropriate, but at the thought that without using this power there'd be no way to obtain the information, she could only let it slide.
"I wonder what kind of power this is?"
Beyond perspective, what other special abilities did Lin Ye possess?
Like an enigma,
it made Yukino Yukinoshita all the more curious.
And from the other end of the phone came a male voice once more—it was Hayama Hayato's voice.
At once,
the low murmurs of conversation still lingering on this end all ceased one after another and fell silent.
They were all curious.
...
Lin Ye looked at the blond youth Hayama Hayato standing about a meter before him, dressed in a black-and-white athletic uniform and soccer cleats.
His gaze swept around, and he noticed the curious looks cast his way from all around.
Not only from girls—quite a few of the gazes belonged to boys as well.
After all, as a celebrity of Sobu High, Hayama did possess a certain ability to draw eyes.
"Go ahead."
At Lin Ye's prompting, Hayama Hayato slowly began to speak,
"On the 17th of last month, I saw Haruno-san together with an unfamiliar man."
"They were intimate, arm in arm,"
"..."
"..."
Just a few words,
and Lin Ye's expression shifted slightly.
Connecting the timing with certain specific descriptions, Lin Ye realized that the man Hayama Hayato spoke of—the one intimate with Haruno—was none other than himself.
And though he stood right before Hayama's eyes, Hayama hadn't recognized him—which indicated that Hayama had only caught his back and profile at the time, never having seen his face, so that even now, with the man right in front of him, Hayama couldn't recognize him.
Inexplicably, it struck him as rather comical.
So Lin Ye thought.
What Miura Yumiko cared about, however, was that woman by the name of 'Haruno.'
Hayama had secretly grieved over this woman, sunk into low spirits for nearly a month—enough to demonstrate the depth of his admiration for her.
Admiration!
This was an emotion she had always been convinced Hayama would never feel.
Yet as it turned out, the opposite was true—not only did Hayama have it, he had already fallen into deep admiration.
Miura Yumiko realized the depth of Hayama's feelings for that woman; otherwise, he wouldn't have kept choosing to stay single.
She felt even more miserable.
In this moment, she even felt it would have been better not to know about this—she'd have been more able to face Hayama.
Hayama had always said he didn't want to fall in love; as it turned out, he simply didn't want to date any woman other than that one.
Miura Yumiko's heart went cold, ice-cold.
Isshiki Iroha and Yui Yuigahama looked at each other, exchanging glances.
This ignited the gossip-craving in the two of them,
and that name—could it be, was it possibly…
Yukino Yukinoshita's expression had already changed,
Sister,
the chance of it being merely a namesake was extremely low.
So,
who was her sister being intimate with, arm in arm?
She wanted to know too, but going by Hayama's answer, clearly Hayama didn't know the situation either.
What next—
how was she to get the answer?
Yukino Yukinoshita thought of asking her sister directly, but her sister would surely tease her and wouldn't tell her the answer.
Then—ask Lin Ye?
She hesitated. Having Lin Ye use this power to get the answer out of her sister was a method with a near one-hundred-percent success rate, but—how to put it—she felt some hesitation.
On one hand, there was the abuse of his power; on the other, was it really alright to ask Lin Ye for this?
"He's my boyfriend, my fiancé,"
Asking Lin Ye for help was no problem.
Yukinoshita thought of the current relationship between herself and Lin Ye.
A few minutes later,
Hayama had finished his account,
"Thank you for your trust, Hayama-kun, thank you,"
Lin Ye gave his thanks—if you're going to put on an act, do it thoroughly; you can't let anyone sense too much that's off.
A few seconds later,
Hayama came to his senses, and recalling what he'd just done, he inwardly cried out in alarm and regret,
Why had he told a secret hidden deep in his heart to a stranger he was meeting for the first time—he shouldn't have said it at all!
But just now he truly had felt a faint yet strong urge to speak it out, to share, to vent the emotions bottled up in his heart.
Now,
he had a sense of relief, like a great stone settling to the ground.
"Phew..."
Hayama gently let out a breath.
What was done was done; there was no need to keep on regretting and feeling wretched.
"Student Lin, I hope you'll keep this secret for me."
Yes,
Hayama gave up on regret but sought a way to make amends; he didn't want more people to know, especially that person Lin Ye had mentioned—the one who'd asked Lin Ye to inquire on their behalf.
The handsome blond Hayama Hayato had, in fact, already formed a guess about the client Lin Ye spoke of; he just hadn't confirmed it, nor did he want to ask directly to get that answer.
'Tap, tap, tap...'
A sound of footsteps rang out.
In the noisy surroundings, it was unexpectedly crisp and distinct.
Beneath the setting sun,
a golden-haired young girl stepped into view; the black-and-white Sobu High uniform couldn't conceal her proud figure, and every step she took was extremely heavy, a complex expression surfacing in her eyes.
"It's Miura."
"She's only just arrived."
"She found out a man's trying to snatch Hayama from her, so she rushed over? Hahahaha..."
...
The students watching all around couldn't help but tease.
The moment Hayama caught sight of her, he was dumbfounded,
indeed,
no matter what, he'd never imagined that Miura Yumiko would actually appear at this very moment.
A coincidence?
No, not a coincidence—this absolutely could not be a coincidence.
Miura already knew,
and the one outcome he'd wanted to avoid was, it seemed, destined to be unachievable.
What a headache,
Hayama couldn't imagine how he was to handle Miura Yumiko afterward in order to preserve this web of relationships he now had.
He rather liked his current relationships and the atmosphere, and didn't want to lose them in the slightest.
But now, it seemed he was about to.
Hayama lamented inwardly, his heart heavy.
And Miura Yumiko walked forward step by step, her right hand clenched into a fist.
A confession,
a confession,
this came from Isshiki Iroha's urging, coupled with Yukino Yukinoshita's mockery—it was those two demanding that she honor the bet, that she fulfill the agreement,
she didn't want to,
but—but if it was because of the bet, then there was no helping it,
right!
So the golden-haired young girl thought, yet her striding legs felt somewhat unsteady, looking all the more unnatural.
Five meters,
three meters,
closer still,
her heartbeat quickened to the point where she could only steady it with deep breaths.
One meter,
Miura Yumiko came to a stop.
The air fell silent,
the students watching all around held their breath, their faces full of anticipation, waiting for whatever interesting, eagerly-awaited thing would happen next.
To them, romance and gossip among students was forever the most anticipated thing of all.
Lin Ye looked at Miura Yumiko, standing in place, trembling slightly and utterly tense, and immediately understood what this blond high school girl was about to do.
His gaze instantly shot toward Isshiki Iroha and Yukino Yukinoshita. Seeing the smile Isshiki Iroha couldn't keep off her lips, he knew this girl must have had a hand in it.
Not bad, not bad,
Isshiki could get things done after all—quite in line with his needs.
Decided: from now on, when he bullied Isshiki, he'd go a little easier on her—give Isshiki a pass this once.
Lin Ye fixed his gaze on this golden-haired young girl, the corners of his mouth lifting, looking forward to how the plot would unfold from here.
What would the future hold for Miura Yumiko and Hayama Hayato?
Probably it would all end right here!
How gratifying, how gratifying—this counted as him doing Miura Yumiko a favor, allowing words that this girl wouldn't have spoken in three whole years to finally be spoken now.
Miura Yumiko looked at Hayama, then over at Lin Ye to the side, and finally her gaze settled back on Hayama.
The handsome blond Hayama felt a chill in his heart—this couldn't be avoided.
It seemed he'd have to accept it.
"Phew... Yumiko,"
He tried once more to salvage it, with even a tiny note of pleading in his tone.
He hoped this relationship could still be maintained; as long as Miura Yumiko didn't shatter it, all of this could carry on.
Fake though it was, Hayama Hayato still hoped to keep it going.
Miura Yumiko ignored the pleading element in Hayama's words; her red lips moved slightly, and she slowly began to speak.
She mustered her courage, closed her eyes, and used every ounce of strength in her body.
Here it comes,
apart from the few involved parties like Yukinoshita and Isshiki Iroha, even the high schoolers watching from a distance seemed to sense something, instinctively feeling that this time Miura Yumiko was going to confess—going to confess to Hayama Hayato!
At last,
Sobu High's blond beauty was finally about to take this step too.
"How long have we waited—this day has finally come."
"I wonder if Hayama will accept,"
"Probably not! Then again, it's hard to say,"
"Hayama and Miura have been together for ages now; for Miura to formally confess now, she must be doing it because it's a sure thing,"
"Another beautiful girl off the market! Boo-hoo-hoo,"
"When will our school's cool, aloof campus belle Yukinoshita accept a confession and get herself off the singles list!"
...
...
The high schoolers watching grew excited, and they kept firing off messages, sending this explosive news to their classmates, so that more and more Sobu High students learned of the scene about to play out here at the sports field.
Students still at school, upon learning of it, rushed to the sports field as fast as they could, hoping to witness this thrilling, fascinating scene with their own eyes.
Success, or failure,
whatever the outcome,
they all wanted to know.
...
And Miura Yumiko finally spoke; after several attempts, the words in her throat at last came out,
"I..."
"like you,"
The most standard four-character confession,
simple and direct,
expressing the feelings in her heart with the most concise of words.
On hearing this, Hayama's face went pale,
in the end he hadn't managed to stop it.
Miura Yumiko—having learned that he had a girl he liked, and that he'd sunk into a state of low spirits because of her—had, in the end, still shattered the atmosphere of this relationship and taken this step.
Lin Ye smiled,
a great satisfaction filling his heart, his sense of delight off the charts.
Back when reading the original work, he'd always wondered how Hayama would respond, what reaction he'd have, after Miura formally confessed.
Now, he had witnessed this scene up close and in person.
Lin Ye was thoroughly content.
"..." Hayama had just been about to reply when Miura Yumiko's next sentence came through.
"Lin Ye, go out with me! I like you."
As her voice fell,
the entire scene fell into deathly silence.
"..."
"..."
Hayama Hayato's expression froze, the words about to leave his mouth lodging in his throat,
What was going on? What had just happened?
Only now did he notice that the person Miura Yumiko was facing was Lin Ye, not him, Hayama Hayato.
The one Yumiko liked was Lin Ye, the one she was confessing to was Lin Ye?
His mind went blank on the spot, but soon a conjecture surfaced.
If that were the case, then it could probably be explained.
And as the party concerned, Lin Ye's smile had already stiffened.
He stared blankly at this blond high school girl before him who had formally confessed to him.
Hey, hey, hey, you've got to be kidding—why are you confessing to me?
And asking me to go out with you—you're joking with me, right!
Our bet was for you to confess to Hayama!
A great many guesses flashed through Lin Ye's mind, yet he simply couldn't fathom Miura Yumiko's true thoughts and intentions in this moment.
Even if she really meant to confess to him to honor the terms of the bet, at the very least she shouldn't do it right in front of Hayama Hayato!
Doing this—wasn't Miura Yumiko shoving herself into hell, leaving no possibility whatsoever between herself and Hayama?
Lin Ye couldn't make sense of Miura Yumiko's thought process.
This scene was beyond what he'd anticipated, and for the moment he didn't know how to respond more appropriately.
As for liking him—she definitely didn't like him; there had to be something behind it.
So his reply should be...
"Student Lin,"
Hayama's voice suddenly rang out, breaking the silence,
"Congratulations, congratulations—I never imagined Yumiko liked you,"
He was smiling, maintaining his usual gentle and courteous demeanor, but his bright eyes were laced with a trace of complicated emotion.
This was the result he'd hoped for—his friendship with Miura Yumiko would continue, the web of relationships around him would be preserved and maintained—yet why, why did his heart ache a little.
This heart of his seemed unwilling to accept this result.
"Treat Yumiko well from now on. If you bully Yumiko, then as Yumiko's friend, I'll definitely give you a good thrashing."
With that, he swung a fist, making his stance clear.
Lin Ye was speechless,
what was with these two,
he refused to believe that Hayama didn't know Miura Yumiko had feelings for him—yet even so, to still say something like this, wasn't that provoking Miura Yumiko, hurting her all the more?
Besides, I never even said I'd accept.
I, Lin Ye, already have girlfriends—two of them, in fact.
As for this blond high school girl, I'm honestly not particularly interested.
The high schoolers watching were all utterly stunned.
"The one Miura Yumiko likes is Lin Ye?"
"That exchange student? That can't be right!"
"It's unbelievable—I thought she was confessing to Hayama, never expecting it to be Lin Ye,"
"No wonder Miura Yumiko came rushing over the moment Lin Ye approached Hayama—so that's how it is, so that's how it is,"
"I remember the one Lin Ye likes is Yukinoshita—can he even accept Miura's confession?"
"Yukinoshita's right over there, she's here on the scene!"
...
...
As the discussion spread, more and more of the watching high schoolers fell into confusion and amusement.
They truly hadn't anticipated this turn of events.
The question was whether Lin Ye, the one confessed to, would accept Miura Yumiko's confession.
A confession from Sobu High's blond beauty—any normal man would accept, surely!
That face, that figure—any man would like her, surely!
Many of the boys were fantasizing that if they were Lin Ye, they'd definitely accept, gaining a girlfriend and embarking on a new, happy, wonderful life.
How enviable!
Miura Yumiko getting together with Hayama—they could fully accept that, without much envy or jealousy, finding it only natural; but Miura Yumiko getting together with Lin Ye, an exchange student—that they found rather hard to swallow.
The jealousy blazing fiercely in their hearts kept on climbing.
If looks could kill, Lin Ye, the party concerned, would likely have been killed who-knows-how-many times over.
Lin Ye had, unavoidably, become the focal center of the entire scene.
To be confessed to by Miura Yumiko, right in front of Hayama—once this news got out, how could it not shock the students of Sobu High.
Some students who received the news outright refused to believe it.
It was supposed to be Miura Yumiko confessing to Hayama—how had it become Miura Yumiko confessing to Lin Ye? It made no sense at all, and was utterly unscientific.
They half suspected the classmates who'd sent the messages were pulling their leg, hoodwinking them.
On the scene,
Hayama and Miura Yumiko, being closest, could most keenly feel the immense pressure from the surrounding classmates, and could best read the reluctance in Lin Ye's reaction.
They knew Lin Ye didn't want to accept, that he wanted to refuse.
But if Lin Ye refused, Miura Yumiko would lose all face.
Humiliating—too humiliating.
Hayama felt Miura Yumiko might well stay away from school for several days, unable to bear the strange looks and the murmured whispers of her schoolmates—she might even choose to drop out.
This blond queen, at her core, cared a great deal about her reputation and standing at school.
But to have this confession rejected would, for her, be an enormous blow in her life.
And as for Miura Yumiko herself, seeing Lin Ye's expression with no intention of responding, she was so angry she nearly exploded,
This bastard,
he wouldn't be planning to refuse, would he!
At the mere thought that her first confession in life was about to be rejected by Lin Ye to her face, she practically felt like killing herself.
Kill him first, then commit suicide—that was Miura Yumiko's thinking at this moment.
Miura Yumiko glared, hinting to Lin Ye to hurry up and agree, or else she'd eat him alive.
Brimming with threat.
Lin Ye had not the slightest reaction to this; even Haruno Yukinoshita couldn't threaten him, let alone Miura Yumiko, this blondie.
He, Lin Ye, firmly refused to accept any threat.
However,
after weighing everything,
he thought of an interesting idea—hadn't he come here to seek fun, to chase after delight? Things had changed, and he himself had become a party to it,
so,
he could respond in a different way too.
An opportunity like this—
how could he let it slip by.
Lin Ye took a step forward, giving Miura Yumiko a start,
and the next second, the golden-haired young girl felt her hand being grasped—a slightly rough, large hand, a man's hand.
She instinctively wanted to pull it back, but her rational will held her in check.
If she withdrew her hand and her classmates saw, her confession just now would become an utter and complete joke.
This was the one thing Miura Yumiko could not accept,
even if this confession was fake; at the very least, for now, it had to be maintained—as for later, she could just pick a time to announce the breakup to everyone.
That was Miura Yumiko's thinking.
"Hayama-kun, rest assured, I'll take good care of her,"
Lin Ye said to Hayama Hayato while holding Miura Yumiko's hand, "Thank you for always looking out for Yumiko,"
"From now on, leave her to me!"
"I never expected Yumiko would confess to me—I always thought she'd confess to you,"
The moment these words were out,
both their expressions changed.
Especially Hayama, whose look toward Lin Ye faintly suppressed a flicker of anger—but at the thought of his own choice, it dissolved into a silent sigh.
There was no helping it,
there was no way he could accept Miura Yumiko's confession; had Miura Yumiko confessed to him, he'd only have refused, and their little group would have met its end too.
"But now that I know Yumiko's feelings, I'm rather glad, and quite happy too,"
Facing Lin Ye's words, Hayama said while maintaining his smile, "Since Student Lin has said as much, I can rest easy too,"
"You two should get along and date well,"
"Yumiko, if Lin Ye bullies you in the future, come to me, and I'll get justice for you."
That radiant smile made Miura Yumiko all the more depressed and heartbroken.
It shouldn't be like this, it shouldn't be like this.
The future she'd wanted shouldn't have been like this.
"Thank you,"
As Miura Yumiko spoke the words, her eyes grew moist.
One thing she now knew: there was no longer any possibility between her and Hayama.
In the instant she had spoken, that possibility was gone forever.
Misery, depression, sorrow, grief.
Her whole being was in a daze, to the point she nearly lacked the strength to even stand.
Lin Ye immediately drew close, one hand catching the girl's slender waist to support her, "Rest assured, Hayama-kun—Yumiko and I will take our leave now,"
"Alright."
Hayama smiled; he knew that if Miura Yumiko stayed any longer, she likely truly wouldn't be able to keep standing.
Lin Ye walked off with Miura Yumiko,
the golden-haired young girl let Lin Ye support her, and even at the skin-to-skin contact with Lin Ye at zero distance, she had lost all reaction.
She pursed her lips, keeping her eyes as calm as possible, so as not to let anyone else notice anything.
Lin Ye glanced over, and his eyes happened to meet Yukino Yukinoshita's.
The girl with long black hair's expression was slightly cold,
while Isshiki Iroha gently clapped and gave a thumbs-up.
Yui Yuigahama was still in shock, having never imagined things would develop like this.
Yumiko's confession—wasn't it supposed to be a confession to Hayama?
How had it ended up being a confession to Lin Ye? This was all wrong—Yumiko had confessed to the wrong person.
But now Lin Ye had walked off with his arm around Yumiko's waist; with such an intimate posture, if Yumiko didn't like Lin Ye, she surely wouldn't have allowed it.
"What a headache,"
she couldn't figure out the reason at all.
Yui Yuigahama decided she'd ask Yumiko later just what exactly was going on.
After Lin Ye and Miura Yumiko left the area of the sports field, a loud burst of chatter erupted on the scene.
"So it's real!"
"Arm around her waist, holding hands and all,"
"So enviable!"
"So enviable I could cry,"
"I want a girlfriend too."
...
...
The students of Sobu High kept letting out howls of envy.
And the confession incident at the sports field spread at breakneck speed,
Rui Tachibana found out.
A confession?
As a girl, she did have some interest in it, but only interest—not to the point of prompting her to go digging for details herself.
"Miura Yumiko,"
Oh, that fairly well-known blond beauty in the second year,
Rui Tachibana had an impression of her.
But that was all.
And at this point, the next sentence from the random students discussing it made Rui Tachibana freeze.
"Lin Ye,"
the target of Miura Yumiko's confession was Lin Ye,
and Lin Ye had even accepted this confession.
Rui Tachibana's mind went blank at once, and even her breathing briefly stalled.
Why would Lin Ye agree,
could it be that the girl Lin Ye liked was Miura Yumiko?
No,
she instinctively rejected the idea, believing it utterly impossible.
So,
who was the one Lin Ye liked?
But more than all of this,
what Rui Tachibana cared about more was that she herself had asked to date Lin Ye and been refused.
Yet Miura Yumiko had confessed, and Lin Ye had agreed.
By this comparison,
she felt thoroughly displeased and unhappy.
Compared with that blond woman, where was she lacking, in what way was she inferior?
Rui Tachibana thought silently to herself.
And Hina Tachibana also heard the news,
and she too was shocked.
Wasn't Lin Ye in friendly contact and interaction with her sister—how had it turned into Lin Ye accepting Miura Yumiko's confession?
Had something gone wrong somewhere in between?
...
...
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